fast forward a few years, and now he is writing this, and i quote, "you may not wear a suit for your job or for an event or occasion, but if you do, i would strongly recommend you wear someone else's suits. i for one will never set foot in a men's warehouse, even for shelter from a blizzard. i absolutely guarantee it." now, keep in mind, this is on the megadeath facebook page. men's warehouse responded in the comment section and offered him an apology. we e-mailed the company for a statement, but they didn't respond. maybe they only like to tweet pioneers of thrash speed metal, which i totally get, but for those who like to rock, whether it's alone, in your garage, on stage front of screaming fans, or at a men's warehouse in utah, we salute you.

that does it for us. "early start" begins now. gun control on the table. the vice president's task force gets down to business bringing in the nra for the meeting. responding to the backlash. brent musburger's bosses apologizing for his on air comments about the football star's beauty queen girlfriend. balloon ride from hell. a camera is rolling as a wedding party's sky high tour takes a terrifying turn. they crashed. on their wedding day. good morning, welcome to "early start." happy to have you with us. >> it is january 9th, 5:00 a.m. in the east. and at the white house today, the national rifle association face to face on guns and gun

control. actually that's tomorrow.nra confirming it will meet with vice president and its gun violence project tomorrow. but they don't sound excited about it. putting out a statement that reads we're sending a rep to hear what they have to say. listen to the response from the president's spokesman. >> we look forward to hearing from a variety of organizations and civic groups and others who have insights into this problem. >> if you're here to listen to them, they're here to listen to you. >> tprocess designed to get input. >> dan lothian is live from washington. this is shaping up to be one chilly meeting. that's tomorrow. what's happening today? you have details as to what the vice president is proposing. >> that's right. well, first of all first of all, the vice president will be meeting with gun safety organizations and also victims

groups. this is and ongoing process that the president put into play getting the vice president to meet with a whole assortment of groups to try to put together policy proposals as the president sees to try to put an end to gun violence. and so some of the things that the white house is pushing is really putting pressure on congress as they're looking for other policy proposals, they say there are things that congress can do right now such as reinstating the ban on assault weapons or closing loopholes around background checks and in addition limiting high capacity magazines. these are things again that the president, haven't and others in the administration have said, look, let congress take care of these things that they have in front of them right now and then this biden group is trying to come up with other policy proposals, as well. and in addition, the vice president, his group, cabinet members, will be meeting with other gun groups, the this. ra as you pointed out will be meeting with them on thursday, white house officials say also

entertainment entry, to deal with the issue. >> so how are gun rights groups reacting to the proposals? >> a lot are not happy at all. they say that the focus really is in the wrong direction. they want to make sure that their rights are protected to bear arms. and they're saying things and you heard this from the nra saying the focus should be on a whole host of things such as putting guns at every school to protect schoolchildren, that there should be some focus on mental health issues, as well. and that there also should be more focus on video games because there's a lot of violence in the entertainment industry and a lot of people will go after gun owners and not look at these kinds of other issues that they believe influences violence, as well. so that's been the push back from gun owners and organizations. >> so the white house has

invited people from all part of the perspective. what's interesting is who is not coming, walmart. >> that's right. and i think that's raising a few eyebrows because a lot of these organizations, nra in particular when they get the invitation, they have said they will show up. walmart saying it's a scheduling issue releasing a statement that said unfortunately we are unable to attend but we have been ongoing conversations with the white house and reaching out to lots of groups and organizations on this topic and sharing our experience. we take the sale of firearms very seriously and are committed to the responsible sale of firearms. again, walmart a big company that sells a lot of firearms. not at this point sending a representative to these meetings saying that it's a scheduling matter. >> dan lothian in washington. there will be two very interesting days of discussions at the white house ahead. thank you very much. new york governor andrew cuomo is about to announce a

plan for sweeping new gun laws in his state in the wake of the newtown school massacre. it will include one of the thags's most restrictive bans on assault weapons. new york is one of seven states that already bans somes assault weapons, but the governor says existing laws has more holes than swiss cheese and he wants to tighten those laws and broaden the number of weapons and magazines that it covers. and it's this comment to a radio station that has gun rights advocates up in arms. the governor confirming confiscation could be an option when he announces his new proposals later today in his state of the state address. >> he said that once. he hasn't said it again. so a lot of people thinking he may be backing off that initial statement. all u.s. troops could be out of afghanistan by the end of 2014. according to white house officials, the administration was considering leaving up to 15,000 troops behind to train afghan security forces. but now the president is said to

be open to a scenario that involves a total pull out. hamid karzai and president obama are set to meet on friday to discuss all this. three of the five men charged in that rape and murder case in india have been advised to plead not guilty. they were brought into court on monday under heavy security. the case has sparked angry protests about the treatment of women and it has put a spotlight on laws against sexual assaults. the victim was attacked and beaten on a bus last month and later died. medical treatment in cuba will keep hugo chavez from being sworn in for a new term. the question is does the constitution there allow the inauguration to be delayed. whole be in charge? their vice president said the in-august race should happen at a quote later date, but an opposition leader is asking the high court to decide if that's even possible. the 58-year-old venezuelan president has been undergoing cancer treatment. a newly married couple has

quite a story to tell. they took their vows in a hot air balloon. winds blew the balloon off course and things got a little bumpy. a member of the wedding party recorded the crash on her cell phone. >> brace. hold on. >> so there were 13 people in the basket. amazingly only one person suffered a minor back injury. >> they say rain on your wedding day is good luck. if 245that's the case, this is best luck. >> you have nowhere to go but up. espn apologizing for remarks made by brent musburger during monday night's game. he got a little carried away when he spotted a.j. mccarron's

girlfriend who is a beauty queen in the stands. here's how it went down. >> you quarterbacks, you get all the good looking women. what a beautiful woman. wow. >> a.j. is doing some things right. >> throw it around the backyard. >> so espn put out this statement saying we always try to capture interesting story lines in the relationship between an auburn grad who is miss alabama and the quarterback certainly met that test. but we apologize that this went too far. >> it's not the first time brent musburgers has done something like this. we'll be talking to jenn sterger. she says a comment helped launch her career. insiders say we could see a

shutout because of steroids. here are the headliners on the ballot. big names. barry bond, sammy sosa roger clemson, all tainted by the scandal. in the 7:00 hour, "boston globe" sports columnist dan shaughnessy will tell us who he couldn't vote for. >> i love this day almost every year when they have the hall of fame balloting, this year has a sour taste because of all the steroids. it will be fascinating to see who gets in. the people connected to steroids like bonds and clemmons almost definitely will not get in and again it's a mystery if anyone will get in. i think craig bigio will get in and i think that's it. jack who are ris, a pitcher, i think he has a shot, but that's it. >> that's a shame. >> you don't have to get someone

in every year. >> but just a shame that it's tainted the way that it is. so just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. coming up, a close encounter with a shark near a florida beach. . and at a will ferrell movie set, find out what they stole.

mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance

is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

welcome back. prosecutors continue to build their case against james holmes suspected of killing 12 in a massacre at a movie theater last july. it's day three of preliminary hearings to determine if the state's case against holmes is strong enough to go to trial. and among the graphic evidence presented in court yesterday, a 911 call where more than 30 gunshots can be heard in the background. casey wian has been covering this for us. good morning to you.

yesterday prosecutors played never before released 911 calls from the day of the shooting. we just mentioned that you could hear 30 gunshots fired. what else do those tapes show us? >> well, there were 41 911 calls made the night of the shooting and prosecutors played two of those calls. the first one was perhaps the most dramatic moment of this preliminary hearing up until this date. the call only lasted 27 seconds. you could not really understand what the caller and the 911 dispatcher were saying to each other, but what was unmistakable was the sound ofgunfire. pop, pop, pop, pop, 30 shots, more than 30 shots in the 27 seconds that that call lasted. here is what the father of one victim had to say about sitting in court and listening to this call.

>> any one of those shots could have been the one that killed al lebs. and if it wasn't, it hurt somebody else or killed one of the other people who we've become friends with. so it was horrific. >> the second call played in the court was by a 13-year-old girl who was at the theater with her cousins. the call lasted for four minutes. it was heartwrenching because she was having a difficult time hearing the 911 operator, the 911 operator was having a difficult time understanding her because of all the chaos. the 911 operator tried to have her perform cpr on her young cousin who was sitting next to her shot not breathing. it was frustrating and heartwrenching for the family members and victims in the courtroom. they held hands, were fighting back tears. very, very dramatic testimony

yesterday in court. >> so sad. i can't imagine what they're going through and the pain of reliving that. so the detectives also described how holmes had booby-trapped his apartment to explode using a toy car and frying pan. did they share more details? >> well, they did and fortunately they didn't work. the plan according to detectives who interviewed holmes and went to the scene was that this apartment would explode and drain resources away from first responders instead of having them go to the movie theater. there was fishing lines strung across the inside of the apartment attached to a canister of a explosive liquid over a frying pan that contained another explosive liquid. if someone walked into that fishing line, it would trip that, cause the two to mix, create flames. also canisters of other

explosives, i d explosiv, deversionary smoke powder. and there was a remote control set that up thankfully never went up, a boom box outside playing loud music with a remote controlled car that was not really set up to control the car, the remote control was set up to blow up the apartment. investigators say they neff actually recovered that car, but they did recover the boom box and fortunately none of those devices worked. >> the brain behind all of that planning. i just have one last question for you because we're running out of time. did we get any reaction from him as he's sitting there listening to all of this? >> no, his demeanor continues to be expressionless. some family members say they see reaction, but, frankly, we haven't. he's remained expressionless throughout the preliminary hearing. >> casey wian, thank you. 17 after the hour. right now a lot of news out

there. >> the nra and obama administration are one day away from a face to face showdown on gun control. vice president's gun violence project gets down to business today meeting with victims' rights and gun safety groups. tomorrow representatives of sports man and gun owners groups get their turn. bad news for the redskins rookie robert griffin iii. he'll have surgery in the next few days and may miss the start of next season. rg3 was hurt and left the game in saturday's playoff loss to seattle. one sports doctor says the lcl tear could possibly keep griffin out for 8 to 12 months and he may have an acl tear, as well. way to stay classy, thieves. someone actually robbed ron burgundy. $300,000 worth of copper wire and four computers were swiped from the atlanta set of anchorman 2. the sequel which stars will ferrell is scheduled to come out

at the end of the year. great white shark alert. police in jacksonville beach say don't go in the water. shark researchers advise they spotted a great white shark they named mary lee just 200 yards offshore yesterday. the researchers say when the shark was tagged in september, it was 16 feet long and weighed almost 3500 pounds. they're tracking her using gps technology. and, no, i won't go in the water. >> we'll actually be talking to the scientist who helped track mary lee and i'll ask him how he'll keep me safe. >> don't go in the water. very simple. >> risk of a shark attack is almost nothing, john. especially since you're in new york in a suit in the studio. >> but i'm standing next to -- well, never mind. 19 after the hour. time for early read, your local

news making national headlines. from the lehigh valley live.com, a spike in flu cases taking its toll on pennsylvania's lehigh valley. an emergency tent has been set up to see patients with flu-like symptoms outside of the regular emergency room. there is widespread flu activity in more than 40 states across the country, 1 deaths ha8 deathn reported. flu season came much earlier than usual and creating all kinds of problems. >> the denver post.com has a story of a young man who cannot remember who is he. police in aurora, colorado hope someone can identify this person. appears to be in his 20s. he turned up as a mcdonald's on saturday. he's unable to identify himself. he has no phone, no driver's license. absolutely nothing. he's now in a hospital, but list say he shows no signs of injury or trauma. they ran his finger prints through a national database, but

no matches turned up. take a close look there if you can identify him, call. you can imagine? >> anything can help, so if you know him, give a call. head to our blog cnn.com/earlystart and follow us on twitter and facebook. certainly for early start cnn. and coming up, why the company that brings you applicationky mouse wants you to wear a magic bracelet. jenna shared her recipe with sharon, who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh.

[ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson. mmmm! excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that? geico. just click away with our free mobile app. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ]

what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. sven gets great rewards for his small business! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve great rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice.

minding your business this morning, u.s. stock futures are flat ahead of the opening bell. >> and we get our first taste of earnings. christine has that story. >> we'll be looking for all these reports to see what they're saying about the economy and global growth and how they can squeeze more profit out of a year that has been at least a little tough. stocks two days down, but futures kind of flat. yesterday you can see the s&p is now up 2.2% so far for the year.

we have a long year to go. we're thinking that quarterly earnings will be probably 3.3% growth. not great, not terrible considering all of the headwinds we've been talking about and compared with the fourth quarter of last year. outrage story is that there is a lawsuit. today aig the board will consider whether to join a lawsuit to sue the government for being bailed out. remember how we had to go in and save this company, taxpayers had to save this company, it was on the verge of taking down the global economy because of stupid, stupid derivatives bets they made. now there's this lawsuit that the aig board will consider, a lawsuit brought by the former ceo, hank greenberg, and they'll talk today about whether they want to be a part of it. this happening as aig is in a public relations campaign to say thank you for saving them. look at this public relations bid that they're doing.

>> and now we're helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. >> we're a leading global insurance company -- >> the timing is a bit tough here and the current ceo saying we want to remind that you we do thank taxpayers for helping us. so the board of directors has to consider the demands and respond in a timely manner. it will be making the decision in the next several weeks. basically a long way of saying maybe. >> shocking. worst pr move ever. >> they say the government forced it down their throat, and that they got a really bad deal. fed was a loan shark. 14% interest. let me tell you a fun story. disney is rolling out this thing, a wrist band that you can book a guaranteed ride time, dinner reservation, a show. it's tied to your credit card. it's your room key, your everything. your kid for example, you go to

a booth where there's a character, the character knows snow white knows your little kid's name is johnny. it's so personalized and of course what does disney get in return, they know what you spent, how many times you went to something. they can tailer an experience, it's all about information and knowing how to make more hone out of information. really fascinating. and if it would cut down on the wait in line, i would do it. >> if the kids still have fun, maybe a good thing. thank very much. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip.

gun control front and center. officials taking action from washington all the way to small

cities like burlington, vermont. a mexican restaurant cooking up controversy. the t shirts plenty find offensive. and waerawards for hollywoo worst films are out. welcome back to "early start." >> glad you're with us this morning. so in 24 hours, the white house and the national rifle association square off in a gun control showdown. the nra accepting an invitation to be part of vice president biden's gun violence project. the panel gets down to business today. they will be meeting with victims' rights and gun safety groups. tomorrow sports men and gun owner groups get to have their say. dan lothian is live from washington this morning. nice to see you, dan. so even though they've agreed to send a representative, the nra doesn't sound like they are prepared to actively

participate. >> that's right. they are showing up because they have been invited and it appears that they simply want to listen to what it is that this group that the president has instructed to go out there and try to put together these policy proposals, they want to hear what the group has to say. a spokesman saying, we are sending a rep to hear what they have to say. very short statement from the nra. but essentially the nra is skeptical of a lot of what's being pushed out there by the white house and lawmakers up on capitol hill. they say instead of focussing on guns and gun owners, that all of these lawmakers need to be focused on issues such as mental health, need to focus on things like violent video games. one of the things that the nra has also suggested is putting armed guards at all of the schools in order to protect students and to prevent something like what we saw in connecticut from happening again. so again they believe that you need to take sort of a broad approach here, a broad look at

this problem, not just look at those who own guns. >> let's talk about the meeting today. you have details for us as to what the vice president is actually proposing. >> that's right. again, the vice president is looking for sort of broad options here. and that's why they're having these meetings. but right up front, both the vice president and president are looking at things such as reinstating the ban on assault weapons, saying these are things that lawmakers can already take action on. and closing loopholes around background checks and also limiting high capacity magazines. they want to come up with additional options that they think whether prevent some of the violence, the gun violence that we've seen out there from happening again. but these are specific sacactio white house says can be taken right now. >> and it's important to know who is not coming to the meeting. apparently the white house invited walmart, a major seller of firearms and guns.

but they declined the invitation. and they stopped advertising online but still continued selling their guns. do you know why they declined? >> they're he saying it's a scheduling matter, but certainly walmart, they sell a lot of guns. it's a big company, so it's raising eyebrows when they're not showing up to the table when in fact other organizations are accepting invitations. a spokesman for walmart saying unfortunately, we're unable to attend, but we have been having ongoing conversations with the white house and reaching out to lots of groups and organizations on this topic and sharing our experience. we take the sale of firearms very seriously and are committed to the responsible sale of firearms. so unclear whether they will agree to meet with this white house group in the future, but for now, declining to show up in meetings scheduled for this week. >> all right, dan lothian, thank you. 34 after the hour. there was a blaze orange opposition to new gun laws in

one city. a very large crowd packed city hall in about your link to think, many wearing hunter's orange to show their opposition to a measure banning semiautomatic guns and multiammunition clips. they passed the measure by a 10-3 vote, but it must go to committee and be voted on by the public and sent to the state capital before it can become law. vermont is considered one of the most lenient states when it comes to gun control. lance armstrong is talking to oprah. oprah has landed an interview. he has agreed to 590 minute no holds barred interview next thursday january 17th. it's expected that he will discuss the doping allegations that led to him being stripped of his seven tour de france titles. meanwhile the head of the anti-doping agency told cbs news armstrong tried to make a quarter million dollar donation to the agency right before it launched an investigation against him. >> a lot of people tweeting oprah because they want her to ask tough questions.

sticker shock on immigration. a nonpartisan report found the u.s. spent more money on immigration enforcement than the fbi, drug enforcement administration, secret service, u.s. marshal service and the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms combined. the migration policy institute says close to $18 billion was spent on immigration last year compared to $14.4 billion for all other principal law enforcement agencies. a mexican restaurant in columbia, south carolina is in hot water over a t-shirt it's selling that says look at this, how to catch an illegal immigrant. and it shows a taco being used as bait. critics say the message behind the shirt that employees wear and sell is racist.

the list goes on and on and on. another lashing earning seven nominations and tyler perry is being honored for his work in three films.

they're handed out on february 23rd the night before the oscars. take your ipad with you into the pool. can you believe that? that and other cool innovations from the electronics consumer show. >> plus we're already calling this the shot of the year. the story behind that you been believable shot. there it is. oh, my. we'll have that story coming up. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites.

discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up.

there is impressive innovation making its debut at the consumer electron ebbs show. among them, tvs that go way beyond hd and a coating that actually lets you take your iphone for a swim. everyone needs that. dan simon checked out the best in new technology. >> reporter: in between the robotic cleaners, and back

massagers, the indestructible cell phone cases and a genius smart pen, here are a few products that caught our eye at ces. first up, the water-safe iphone. liquid pal has a special coating that makes any phone or tablet immune to the hazards of h2o. >> it doesn't affect the look, feel or functionality. >> reporter: cost, about $60 per phone. just send to the company, they'll apply the chemical and send it back. next, ultra hdtv. the headliner at this year electronics consumer show. >> four times the resolution which means you can have a bigger tv in your room, you can sit closer and that tv will be much clearer. >> reporter: they are in fact stunning. the price for the big sets can go upwards of a whopping

$20,000. don't look for them just yet at walmart. but look for the price to come down in a few years. we found this item to be a bit more affordable. if you're someone who likes to watch tv in bed, here is a product that might appeal to you. this is from brookstone, a pillow that has speakers insides. the selling point is if you're listening to the tv, watching whatever show or movie you have on, you can listen to it without disturbing the person lying next to you. >> we think it will be a terrific father's day gift. may save a few marriages. >> reporter: finally the happy fork which might be able to save you a few pounds. the electronic utensil lets you know when you're eating too fast. it will buzz or light up and tell you to slow down. >> yes. you'll have a gentle vibration. >> reporter: at $99, it's being called the world's first smart fork. >> it's important because you can lose weight, but also your digestion will be much better. >> reporter: another of the cutting edge products at ces

where 2,000 companies from all over the world are showing off their new products to the 150,000 people that came here to be dazzled. >> that is very cool stuff. but $99 to tell you you're eating too fast is this. >> i won did ter if you can coat yourself in the waterproof stuff. >> i thought you made a valid point, how do you charge it if it's coated. snake handlers had their hands full when it was time for their giant python's annual weigh-in. first they had to capture the big snake whose name is atomic betty. she is more than 21 feet long. atomic betty weighed in at a whopping 306 pounds which means she's put on about four pounds since last year. not surprising considering she feasts on whole goats. >> you got to be kidding. >> incredible.

>> and she wear it is well. >> i'll agree with you. so facebook as we know it is going through some changes. we'll fill you in on all of them coming up. >> watch us anytime right on your desktop or mobile phone. just go to cnn.com/tv. on. but since i've been on alli, am i on this one? nope. am i on this one? no, no, no, no, no. i am on this one. [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. belt-friendly. let's fight fat with alli. learn more, lose more at letsfightfat.com. learn more, lose more let's say you want to get ahead how do you get from here... to here? at university of phoenix we're moving career planning forward so you can start figuring that out sooner. ln fact, by thinking about where

want your education to lead, while you're still in school, you might find the best route... leads somewhere you weren't even looking. let's get to work. [ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast! [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate.

welcome back. 47 past the hour. let's get you up-to-date with our top stories.

>> obama administration and nra are one day away from a gun control showdown. rush limbaugh is speaking out against what he calls a liberal attempt to normalize pedophilia. the conservative radio host says it could be the next step for those who support gay marriage. >> there is a movement on to normalize pedophilia and i guarantee you your reaction to that is probably much the same when you first heard about gay marriage. what has happened to gay marriage? it's become normal and in fact with certain people in certain demographics, it's the most important issue in terms of who they vote for. >> limbaugh cited a column that quotes academic researchers who claim pedophilia is a distinct sexual orientation. and limbaugh says the media went

easy on the elmo puppeteer who lost his job after several men came forward saying they had sexual relationships with clash when they were teens. big changes to facebook. the social media giant debuting new apps and revamped the mobile facebook site. the news feed now provides the same sorting options as the desktop version. police in quincy, illinois have busted up a major meth lab. inside the location they found a large volume of materials used in the illegal production of meth. they were surprised by the amount of evidence seized. two people are under arrest. and new york knickss and boston celtics have resumed their fierce rivalry on and off the court. carmelo anthony and given garnett exchanged words on monday night.

building security and new york city police officers broke it up after anthony waited for garnett outside the celtics team bus. >> espn says the two have talked by cell phone and cleared the whole air there. and i think the important thing to note is that the celtics won the game. >> really. >> they had been jawing on the court. celtics like to get under your skin and clearly it worked. >> even after the game. fierce competition. >> the game of basketball very serious. >> don't met with the celtics. weather-wise, last year was surely extreme. al lebs ander steel is here with the details. so how warm was it? >> the warmest year on record. 2012 going down in the books. you can see really who saw the worst of it, the northeast through the plains, as well. so a couple interesting notes. the average temperature, average annual temperature, so achblging

the highs and lows, 55.32 degrees. usually when you break a record, it's more about a tenth of a degree, a fifth of a degree, half a degree. but a degree. it's a degree warmer than the old record from 1998. why, the widespread drought, worst since the '50s. and for the most part, most lly absent winter. between the second and third worst in smallest snow back on record. march 2012, warmest march on record. and july 2012, hottest month ever reported in the lower 48. but we are seeing shaome rain i texas and i'll show that you coming up. >> warmest year on record by a full degree. big movement there. thanks very much. straight ahead, a 4-year-old banned from pre-k because he didn't get a flu shot. a brand new update on this story and the boy will join us with his parents here to talk about it. snowbirds beware, swimmers

and surfers being warned to stay out of the water after a great white, is that correct is spotted very close to the beach in florida. we'll talk to the hashark researcher who sounded the al la larm all the way from utah. but first the blind side. why this reporter was totally leveled by her camera guy. check this out. oh, no. s turn it around, and we did. woman: we're helping joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow. but with advair, i'm breathing better.

so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

. welcome back. we're having a freight time looking at the top cnn trends on the web this morning. >> it has to be the most talked

about in all of new york. bloc belongs to rex ryan. he finally explained his tattoo, the one of his wife wearing nothing but a mark sanchez jersey. here is how the new york daily news played it. headlines, marked for life in kinky inky. rex ryan confirmed it is real and it is permanent. >> you know, it is funny, it's actually a tattoo i've had for like three years, going on three years now. and i know what you're thinking. obviously if sanchez doesn't play better, that number's changing. that's pretty much a given. >> that's not what i was thinking. >> i think they have a great marriage. good for the ryans. >> the basketball shot of the year happening on the girls high school court. this is lafayette, indiana.

an unbelievable shot. look, look, look. sinking a three-pointer. she's flying out of bounds with her back to the basket. >> you have to be kidding me. >> also had six other more conventional three pointerses en t the game. sign her up. >> need her on my team. finally full contact report. >> go ahead, i won't get in trouble. it worked in practice. >> see that one more time in slow motion. that was k.a.r.e. news in minneapolis. doing a live shot before the vikings big playoff game with the packers saturday. the photographer was clearly a little too excited for the game. totally ran over her. he was supposed to just catch the ball and i guess run by. luckily we can laugh because no

one got hurt. >> oh, my goodness. took quite a fall there. >> she's okay. >> we keep on watching, of course. all right. the late night comedians were talking politics last night. company man o'brien says chris christie is getting a bad rap. >> governor chris christie is taking some heat. this was in the news. a political opponent of chris christie is accusing governor christie of praying for hurricane sandy. yeah. in response christie said the only weather related thing i've ever prayed for is a dairy queen blizzard. that's a quote. you're always hearing nobody likes congress. congress is unpopular. well this, just came out today. according to a new poll, congress is now less popular than head lies, nickel back and donald trump. in a related story, head lies is

insulted it's being lumped in donald trump and nickelback. sorry, i just wanted to -- do my impression of angry head lies. >> the white house is gearing up for a fight with republicans over chuck hagel, president obama's pick for secretary of defense. as well as the fight over that other thing, everything. >> "early start" continues right now. inside the accused aurora shooter's alleged plot. the explosive trap police say he set as a diversion. and too close for comfort. a great white shark seen lurking just off a florida beach. and responding to the backlash. brent musburger's bosses apologizing for his on air comments about a football star's beauty queen girlfriend. good morning and welcome to early start.

>> glad you're beauty queen gir. >> i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. we begin with the white house, and the national rifle observation. the nra confirming it will meet with vice president biden. but they don't sound ready to actively participate. putting out a statement that reads, "we are seconding a rep to hear what they have to say." that drew this response from the president's spokesman, jay carney. >> we look forward to hearing from a variety of organizations, and civic groups and others who have insights into this problem. >> the nra says it is here to hear what the white house has to say, they are here to listen to you, and you are here to listen to them. >> the sprosz process is to exc information. >> what is the meeting today,

dan lothian? >> first of all, the vice president is doing what the president asked him to do, which is get together with cabinet members, other senior members of the administration and various organizations to put together some policy proposals and bring those to the president by the end of the month. the focus obviously is to try to figure out a way to prevent gun violence. certainly this is in reaction to what happened in connecticut. what the vice president is doing is coming up with additional options, but they are also saying there are things that lawmakers on capitol hill can already do, such as reinstating the ban on assault weapons or closing loopholes around background checks. they see that lawmakers can do more to limit the high-capacity magazines. these are things that the white house already has out there, but trying to come up with additional options. sitting down with victims' groups and gun safety organizations, tomorrow, various gun groups such as the nra, and

also this week, the vice president and his group will meet with representatives from the entertainment industry, gaming industry. trying to figure out how the various groups can help prevent gun violence. >> dan, we've heard that the nra and gun rights groups are pushing back against the measures, but we're hearing pushback from democrats. what's the reaction there? > heidi hitekamp from north dakota has concerns about what she's hearing from the white house. >> i think you need to put everything on the table. but what i'm hearing from the administrati administration, it's way in extreme of what i think is necessary or should be talked about. and it's not going to pass. >> she said instead of focusing on gun control, there needs to be a greater focus on issues of mental illness. it shouldn't be a "one size fits

all solution" but a balance approach. >> dan lothian at the white house, thank you. i want to bring christine in for this. who is not coming to the meeting. walmart, a major seller of firearms. they have declined to actually attend. and we remember from the newtown shootings, right after they happened, they stopped advertising online also for guns. why do you think they made that decision? >> they stopped advertising the ar-15, the bushmaster style weapon. a spokesperson says it was out of sensitivity. they are still for sale. they don't tell us how much they sell. it is the largest retailer of guns likely. walmart says they have a scheduling conflict, so they can't have anybody at the white house meetings. quite rare for a company that size to decline an invitation

for the vice president. they have lobbyists and offices in washington so they could be a voice at the table. it's definitely -- the white house is not saying it's a statement about gun control, but it is. walmart's absence from this meeting is offensive to the people who are trying to figure out what kind of solutions you will do to mass violence killing children. >> particularly interesting. even the nra going, but walmart not showing up. >> a slp in the face to civil discussion about what has happened, since this is a major, major retailer of the various kinds of keeps that killed 26 people. for a company not to go at the request of the white house, it's very rare. i can't think of another time. they didn't send a lobbyist in washington. let's see if they rethink that. a spokesman for the company saying they will not be attending. the walmart has more important

things to do than go to the white house. >> we is have 24 hours to do. >> i am trying to find the exact statement? >> unfortunately, we are unable to attend but we have been having ongoing conversations with the white house and reaching out to lots of group groups and are sharing our experiences. we take the sale of firearms very seriously and are committed to the responsible sale of firearms. we were invited to the talk, but have scheduling conflicts." a huge company and not one person available because of scheduling conflicts? interesting. >> maybe they will find a way to fit it in. five minutes past the hour. new york governor andrew cuomo with a comprehensive overall of his state's gun laws and one of the most prestrictive bans on

assault weapons. cuomo wants to broaden the number of weapons and magazines they cover this comment by cuomo to a radio station that has some gun rights advocates up in arms. and con physician cakes could be an option. he said that in a radio interview, and he has not said it since. >> day three of the preliminary hearing in aurora, colorado, to determine if james homes will have to stand trial, prosecutors have been laying out their case against holmes, accused of killing 12 people. 911 calls from the theater were played in court yesterday. sounds of screaming and gunfire could be heard. 30 shots fired in 27 seconds. and an fbi agent testified holmes rigged his apartment with exmeives to create a diversion from the theater shooting. >> is it possible every single u.s. troop could be pulled out of afghanistan by the end of 2014? according to the white house

officials, administration is considering leaving up to 15,000 troops behind, but now the president is open to a scenario that involves a total pullout. afghan president hamid karzai and president obama are can scheduled to meet on friday. three of the five men in india have been advised to plead not guilty. the case has sparked angry protests across india. the victim was savagely attacked last month and died from her injuries. a new jersey man scaling new heights, climbing to the top of a landmark roller coaster that was swept out to sea during superstorm sandy. 38-year-old christopher anglo planted an american flag on the jet star coaster. when he finally came down, he was arrested, what he was trying

to do is raise awareness about storm recovery on the jersey shore. an apology from espn about the remarks made by brent mussberger. he got overly excited and a little creepy when he spotted a.j. mccarron's girlfriend in the stands. in case you missed it, here is a bit of a sample for you. >> wow, i'm telling you. you quarterbacks, get all of the good-looking women. what a beautiful woman. a.j. is doing some things right. if you are a youngster in alabama, start getting the football out and throwing it around the backyard with pops. >> i'm more offended if you are a youngster in alabama, this is what you need to do to get that. >> we always try to capture interesting storylines and relationship between an auburn grad who is ms. alabama and the

current alabama quarterback certainly met that test. however, we apologize, that the commentary went too far. we will be joined by jenn sterger. a similar comment by mussberger years ago actually helped launch her career. the baseball hall of fame nounces new inductees this afternoon. some believe we could see a complete shutout. largely because of the stain of steroids. all tainted in some way by the performance enhancing drug scandal. no one may get in. we'll find out this afternoon. >> you think someone will? >> i think so. boston globe columnist dan

shaughnessy will tell us who he could not vote for. and one of the people he will vote for is a real surprise. coming up, a close encounter with a shark near a florida beach. we'll talk to a scientist who tracks great whites. plus, a ski slope stunt nearly takes a tragic turn. stay with us. ...and down. just use your maxperks card and get a case of x-9 paper for only 1-cent after maxperks rewards. find thousands of big deals now... ...at officemax.

...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please? out for drinks, eats. i have very well fitting dentures. i like to eat a lot of fruits. love them all. the seal i get with the super poligrip free keeps the seeds from getting up underneath. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. a lot of things going on in my life and the last thing i want to be thinking about

is my dentures. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office. with hand-layered pasta, tomatoes, and real mozzarella cheese. but what makes us even prouder... is what our real dinners can do for your family. stouffer's. let's fix dinner.

a massive great white shark off a china beach. these are researchers from osearch yanking the shark out of waterway back in september. they nicknamed her mary lee ann. she has been a very, very busy girl lately. osearched tagged her. this is the last 72 hours. look how close she came to jacksonville beach. chris fisher is the founder of osearch. he called jacksonville police to get the warning out to tell them to tell people to stay away.

this is incredibly cool. tell me where mary lee is right now? is everyone safe? >> of course, everyone was safe all along. mary lee is about a dozen miles or so off shore, but she did slide in yesterday evening, right into the beach, off the breakers of a public beach and i get e-mails every time the sharks around the world ping in that we are tracking, normally, it's like that's interesting, they are breeding, are they feeding? every once in a while i have to call somebody. i called jacksonville beach. >> this happened yesterday morning. what happens? >> it was in the evening before i went to bed, and i get an e-mail every time they ping in. it goes up on the tracker and i saw the location, the shark was in the surf break this is a big, mature, freight white shark. mary lee, named after my mom, and i had to call somebody. it was the right thing to do.

nothing to worry about, but strictly deliver the data to the police department and let them decide what was safest. >> quite an honor for your mother right there. walk me through this. when did mary lee get tagged. what is the process of doing that? >> mary lee tagged in mid september off cape cod, massachusetts. we have the privilege in this study, my chief scientist, dr. greg skomol, from the university of massachusetts. we went up there to capture giant great white sharks to do everything he always dreamed of, solve the puzzle of their lives, get the data to protect their future. we were working three miles offshore. and mary lee showed up at the back of our research vels. we knew it was the perfect specimen. a big massive female. could show us where and when the great white is breeding but potentially lead to us the nursery where baby sharks are most vulnerable two things we

must understand to impact and ensure their future. she was the perfect fish, the most difficult conditions when we captured her. she was massive, a lot of people around and able to catch one of the most legendary fish in history and get the latest technology on her and see it manifested in the tracker with the whole world able to follow her real time. >> very cool pictures of mary lee right now. she doesn't look small in any way. how do you tag a two-ton shark. is the answer very carefully? >> yeah, very carefully and also you have the right group of people. this has been an exercise in bringing together world class fishermen and scientists. we have a special lift. we swing the shark over, and we have 15 minutes on the deck. we know we can look after them well in that period of time and trying to execute up to a dozen science projects within that 15 minutes. get a nice release.

and mary lee came out of cradle strong, and pinging almost every single day since we released her. not always common with white sharks. they have different personalities like people and mary lee is a real finer. she is exciting and igniting enthusiasm on great whites we haven't seen before. >> how many great sharks are you watching? >> 40 sharks across africa and the eastern coast of the united states. >> thank you so much, chris fisher. incredibly cool. the story about how you washed people in jacksonville, even cooler, we'll tweet out the link to your website. this is fascinating. thank you very much. >> it is fascinating and an education. share it with your kids. tag sharks off the coast of cape cod and now off the coast of florida. >> 15 minutes to conduct hundreds of experiments.

>> and his last name is fisher. perfect. what a great job. >> very cool. a check of the top stories. nra, obama administration, 24 hours away fray showdown on gun control. the gun violence project gets down to business today meeting with gun safety groups. tomorrow, representatives of sportsmen and gun owner groups, including the national rifle association. homicide detectives are investigating the mysterious death of a lottery winner who died before he could collect winnings. mr. khan was killed in july. cyanide poisoning can be difficult to detect a it could be found in a variety of industrial settings. >> if you are going to try to commit the perfect murder this is a good way to do it. if you worked in a metal processing plant,

electroplating, worked in a plant where they work with insecticides. >> medical examiners first determined that khan died of natural causes but took another look after a relative called days after his death. refer. >> zorb are speaking out about the death of a rider in russia. this youtube video shows what happened. two rolled down a mountain, off a cliff. a 27-year-old machine died. zor zorb's inventor is distressed. richard blanco will be the inaugural poet. he is the youngest poet ever to receive the honor and the first la teeno. headliners include beyonce, kelly clarkson, james taylor. >> you will be there? >> we will be there, only

because james taylor is there. 19 minutes after the hour. the fiscal cliff averted, but your tax returns will still be affected. we'll tell you how, coming up. the company that brings you mickey mouse wants you to wear a magic bracelet. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

[ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

welcome back, everyone. minding your business. u.s. stock futures for the dow and s & p 500 up ahead of the opening bell. nasdaq down. markets closed lower. >> alcoa did a little better on sales than many expected. the beginning of what we'll hear from the earnings season.

3.3% earnings growth overall. what wall street expecting. not a gang buster, but we'll see if companies can eek out gains. we'll watch markets closely. s & p 500 up 2.2% so far. we have a long, long way to go to get to the end of the year. i want to talk about disney. a great story. these imagine bands. ha magic bands. when you go to the park your credit card is tied to this. your room key, how you check in for a reservation for a ride. you bring your kid up to a booth with snow white and they know it's your child. it personalizes your experience. it's meant to make things easier for you, but, of course, it means that disney knows every move you can make and can cut down wait times and enhance your experience by helping you spend more money. >> the characters are even know

your kid''s name. >> other people say this is big brother. have you been to disney? a lot of people talking about the magic bands today and a lot of people talking about the social security of paper checks going away in march. if you are still receiving or your grandmother or mother is still receiving a paper check for social security or other benefits, no more after march. back in may 2011, new recipients getting direct deposits or prepaid card. now the irs, social security, says everyone will be doing that. you might be hearing from credit union or bank. march is the deadline. >> what is the one thing we need to know about our money? >> the irs will start taking tax returns january 30th, eight days later than scheduled. some expected delays up to several weeks.

refunds should not be delayed for most filers. early filers, maybe. most filers, thing will be on time. >> there is so much conclusion. >> such dire warnings. >> pushed it back, pushed it back again another eight days. 26 minutes past the hour. a dream wedding turned into a bit of a nightmare. couple and their guests had a close brush with death. coming up. alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. let's fight fat with alli. ♪ sven gets great rewards for his small business! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve great rewards!

[ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice.

what's in your wallet? we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

gun control front and center. officials taking action from washington to small cities like burlington, vermont. a fight over flu shots for school kids. we'll talk to the parents of one school kid who says they have good reason to sparing the needle. balloon ride from hell. a wedding party's sky-high tour

takes a terrifying tour is that a good way to start, bad way to start off? i don't know. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. preventing another newtown, another aurora, another tucson. later this morning, survivors of gun violence along with gun safety groups are meeting with vice president joe biden, biden is leading the task force on guns. lonny phillips will be there. in july, his stepdaughter was one of 12 people killed in the mass shooting in aurora, colorado. thank you for being with us this morning. we continue to be sorry for your loss, sir. >> thank you. thank you for having me. >> what do you intend to say to the vice president when you meet with him today? >> you know, i don't have any plan. i would like to at least tell him my story. and put a face on the tragedies

and try to let the task force know that we will do everything. i'm working with some other groups. brady campaign to prevent gun violence, illegal mayors, anybody else i can work with to help stem this horrible massacre that is going on in our country. >> the white house is considering a number of steps. let me read you some of the things they are considering. possible gun control includes universal background checks, stronger penalties for carrying firearms near schools and the measures go on, tougher mental health exams. >> i think the three things we have to focus on, it will be tough, protracted battle with gun rights, and i think the nra and weapons manufacturers that funnel money into the nra, i'm

going to do everything i can to help with that, but the three main things is assault weapons. the last three massacres in our country were the bushmaster, the m-14, or variant of the m-14 assault weapon type guns. nra is trying to make a distinction. the distinction, it's a killing machine. a bullet every second as we just learned, in the aurora, preliminary hearings. those background checks, high-xaft magazine. those three things are a must. we have to work on those. i don't care if it takes the rest of my life. i had work on those three items. >> your wife, a former member of the nra. the nra has been vocal over the last few weeks after this incident, after being silent for a few days.

have they been helpful in this dialog? >> they have been helpful, and they are using their same worn out, trite guns kill people, people kill people. they need to come up with something more substantial than that. a dialog with nra would be helpful. i would like to see some kind of step forward for them instead of just towing the line and not giving an inch. not the way to negotiate. >> and, lonny, as you well know, the man accused of killing your stepdaughter is in a preliminary hearing right now in colorado. what do you want to come from the hearings? have you chosen not to attend? >> i think because of my wife's emotional condition, it's better that we don't go. we have representatives there

he, even hearing from the members of the murdered families, hearing that after the hearings, my wife, i had to hold her while she cried herself to sleep. it's just too painful. >> lonnie phillips, thank you for being with us. we are so sorry for your loss. thank you for joining thus morning. >> thank you for having me. >> breaks your heart to see them suffer like that. 34 minutes past the hour. gun rights advocates showed up in blaze orange hunting gear to fight a new gun control loesh. a large crowd packed city hall in monday night to show their opposition to a measure banning semi automatic guns. the burlington city council passed the measure, but it has a long way to go. it goes on to committee and has to be voted on by the public before it can be sent to the

senate and become law. taking a look at top cnn trends. this is a big one. lance armstrong will talk to oprah winfrey. her network says he has agreed to a 90-minute interview next thursday, january 17th. it's expected he will discuss doping allegations that will lead him to be stripped of his seven tour de france titles. the head of the anti doping agency says armstrong tried to make a quarter million dollar donation to the agency before it launched the investigation against him. >> there is chatter, hoping that he will come clean and tell the truth. medical treatment in cuba will keep hugo chavez from being sworn in. the question? does the constitutional roux it to be there aed? who will be in charge in the meantime, the inauguration should happen a later date. but an opposition leader is asking the country's high court to decide if that's possible. >> mate not such a good idea

after all. a couple in san diego took their vowed in a hot air balloon. when the pilot tried to lan, things got a little scary. a member of the wedding party turned on her cell phone. >> brace. hold on. >> the good news, amazingly, only one person suffered a minor injury. ahead on "starting point," soledad will talk to the newlyweds. i'm going with it's good luck if your wedding balloon crashes on your wedding day. >> it could be good. a great story to tell, right? how about the bad luck of that happening? i don't know. we'll find out from them. bad news for robert griffin

iii. he will have surgery on a torn knee ligament and may stamix th first few days next season. the acl tear could keep him out from 8 to 12 months and may have another tear as well. >> they hope he can come back as soon as possible. >> 37 minutes past the hour. taking the trash out in hollywood. in other words, nominations for the annual razzie awards, saluting the very worst in film. the final twilight film "breaking dawn part 2" won in every single category. doesn't get any worse than that. and it wouldn't be the razzies without an adam sandler film. "that's my boy." and tyler perry was dishonored in no less than three victims.

the razzies will be handed out february 23rd, the night before the oscars. >> i love med inea. hollywood's biggest morning. oscar nominations announced. a little different than the razzies. and seth macfarlane will do the honors. "lincoln" and le"les miserables are nominated. and ben affleck, act for/director may receive his first directing nomination for " "argo." >> did you see that? >> i did. love that. >> we'll have nomination coverage on "starting point,"

8:15 eastern. facebook is going through changes. we'll fill you in, coming up. what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office. the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours.

41 minutes past the hour.

soledad o'brien joins us with a look at what's ahead on "starting point." >> gun control front and center in washington, d.c. this week. vice president joe biden meeting with groups representing gun violence victims today. and tomorrow, a conversation with the nra. we're talking this morning with wisconsin senator ron johnson. and jen psaki, the traveling press secretary for president obama's re-election campaign. and a shark warning to stay off a florida beach, thanks to gps. a scientist who tracks great white sharks and how you can follow them as well in real time. plus, she's beautiful and smart. the model cameron russell will join us to tell us she thinks young ladies should not following in her career path. she gave a talk all about that. looking forward to that. >> speech so interesting. >> interesting, right? don't want to be this. and yet at the same time, she has a great message for young women. they can be anything they want.

>> 42 minutes after the hour. 2012, a year for the record books. weatherwise, not necessarily a good way. alexandra steele with the numbers. >> 2012, warmest year on record, besting 1998 by 1 degrees, usually 1/10 a degree is the records, not a full degree. warmest march on record and july 2012, hottest month ever recorded in the lower 48. going down in the record books as one of the driest. the drought worst since the '50s, really exacerbating that dry, hot conditions, that is certainly not the case. texas in a drought, they need the rain. we picked up on average half an inch. some places in southern louisiana and southeast texas have picked up 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches. more rain on the way. today, last day of the rain and

the forecast radar takes it toward chicago, and it will be not white, that's for sure. wet, because temperature there in the 40s, and then finds the northeast as rain on friday, guys. >> all right. thank you very much, alexandra. 44 minutes past the hour. this morning's top stories. every single u.s. soldier could be out of afghanistan by the end of 2014. the white house considering leaving up to 15,000 troops to fight insurgents and train afghan security forces. the president is said to be open to a scenario that involves a total pullout. hamid karzai and president obama are scheduled to meet on friday in washington. bob levinson who vanished in the middle east almost seven years ago have received photos of him held captive 18 months ago and released them to turn up the pressure to help find him.

he disappeared during a business trip to iran. the media giant facebook has revamped the mobile facebook site. most significant? the new speed the realtime stream of updates now provides the same sorting options as the desk top version. a sacramento, california, woman was surprised to wake up and find a would-be burglar asleep on her couch. >> this is a crazy story. >> she grabbed her trusty machete, called 911 and held the man until police arrived. >> he had all her valuables packed up and ready to go. he decided to take a nap after eating her leftover chinese food. >> that's when i got the mashety, and i said, no, you need to get back, and wait for

the cops to get here. i'm not afraid. i know exactly how to use it. >> cornell snapped this picture when deputies slapped the cuffs on 25-year-old christopher weaver. he was released on bail and found himself under arrest again, this time for allegedly driving a stolen car. >> okay, girl. where did you get the machete? very interesting. that's what i want to know. where did that machete come from? 46 past the hour. the school said no flu shot, no school. one boy's parents said not so fast. we'll talk to them about why they made the decision. coming up. good morning. ♪

♪ ♪ we're lucky, it's not every day you find a companion as loyal as a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

>>welcome back. 49 minutes past the hour. the flu season has been particularly worse and it's getting worse. six states have made it mandatory for young children to get the vaccine in order to attend daycare and preschool. our next guest says their 4-year-old son was banned from school after they refused to vaccinate him, because he's allergic to eggs, and the

vaccine contains traces of egg protein in it. the state of new jersey will extend an exemption for kids who are allergic to eggs. we are joined now by a family. congratulations. he hechb been in school since last thursday. now the exemption has been exempted, do you have plans to send him back to school? >> we are just waiting for the school to contact us to say he can come back. >> mr. jeremy, are you watching yourself on television? do you miss being in school? you do? what do you miss about school? >> i miss my friends. >> i bet you miss your teacher too, right? hopefully he will get back to school. the health department reversed the exemption for children with egg allergies, but subject to change for next year. do you think it's adequate enough for you to feel confident that you will be able to send

him to school without the vaccine from this point forward? >> i mean, obviously, the only changing it for this year, so we hope to maybe have them as a permanent thing. no parent should have to go through this. if your kid is allergic to the egg in the vaccine, you shouldn't be forced to take it. we know parents that were forced -- that felt they were forced to gatake it, gave it to their child. >> what was the outcome for those childs? >> i was reading it in the posts in reference to our story for yesterday. a lot of people went ahead and did it and lied about it and used a religious belief to hide behind. you shouldn't have to lie. >> jeremy is allergic to eggs. what happens to him if he eats eggs? >> his face starts turning all red and his throat starts closing. >> one of the things that the school said, the exemption existed if you talked to your

doctor and your child was allergic to the eggs. when you spoke to your physician in particular, did he say he thought jeremy should get the vaccine. >> he said he couldn't exempt him unless he had the shot before and went into an anaphylactic shock from it. we can come in, sit in the office while he gets the shot to see if he reacts. >> and you chose not to do that. >> i have seen the reaction he has. >> we have statistics that show how many children have died throughout the years and it shows jeremy is more likely to be at risk if he doesn't get the vaccine. according to the cdc, 115 children died from the flu from september 2010 to august 2011. most not vaccinated. between 2004 and 2012, 829

children died. are you afraid that he could get the flu and you could have a catastrophic outcome here? >> not really. telling us statistics about it. but did the parents -- not to put blame on the parents, but they didn't get the regular little cold or whatever and didn't take him to the doctor? if you are noticing there is something wrong with your child, take him to the doctors. >> but history has shoup us if you do immunize your child -- the reason they are doing it, they are trying to save lives. if you vaccinate against the flu, deaths go down. >> nothing definite about the shot working. i have never gotten the shot. i have never gotten the flu. so you know what? i have plenty of friends who have gotten the shot with their kids and everybody, everybody getting shots and they get the flu.

some of them almost get it immediately. i just think it's a little strange. never gotten it as a child and never gotten it as an adult, so -- >> some of those kids, did they have illnesses prior to that? he's perfectly healthy except for a few allergies that he has, so that's why we're not so worried. >> not being judgmental here. at the end of the day, saving lives is so important. as a parent, you make decisions that you feel are best for your children. i'm excited if you get back to school. you will get to see all your friends again. thank you for getting up early today. is he a cutie pie. god bless him. >> back to you. apple unveiling a brand new strategy. coming up, get ready for a cheaper iphone. and how thesteroid era could impact the nominees for today's baseball hall of fame vote. dan shaughnessy will join soledad. like a lot of things,

trying to find a better job can be frustrating. so at university of phoenix we're working with a growing list of almost two thousand corporate partners - companies like microsoft, american red cross and adobe - to create options for you. not only that, we're using what we learn from these partners to shape our curriculum, so that when you find the job you want you'll be a perfect fit. let's get to work.

[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast! [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. time for early reads. local news making national headlines, the national journal asking the question, is gabrielle giffords the new jim brady? the former arizona congresswoman and her husband, mark kelly, front and center in the fight to tighten the nation's gun laws. and giffords can be a powerful messenger. james, ronald reagan's press secretary, was shot and partially paralyzed and the couple has been advocating for tougher and one laws ever since. who could express more than she

what it is like to be a victim? >> if you go to their website and you read through it, it talks about the dialog they are trying to create. they want all parties to come to the table and talk about this in a meaningful way and be able to effect change. i really -- it was a great read. this from "the wall street journal." if you are holding out for a cheaper iphone, your wait may be over. a less expensive version to the existing iphone model. the android phone has been eating eau the market share. the lower-end iphone could launch later this year. >> so interesting. going for the lower price point with the um pad mini and this. >> this is great news for those who break the phone all the time. head to our blog, cnn.com/earlystart and follow us on twitter and facebook. search for early start cnn. >> we are out of time. thanks for joining us.